Former Daystar Executive Accuses Joni Lamb Of Covering Up Sex Abuse
On a hot August day in Florida in 2021, then-Daystar TV executive Jonathan Lamb was summoned by his frightened wife, Suzy. “Pete,” one of their male relatives, had followed their 5-year-old daughter upstairs as the girl was going to change to go swimming.
“It’s like (Pete’s) eyes — he went black, and he’s like in a zombie mode,” Suzy recounted to The Roys Report (TRR) in an exclusive interview.
Jonathan rushed into his daughter’s upstairs room at a beach house Daystar had rented for its annual executive retreat in Miramar Beach.
“To my horror, when I got up there, my daughter was completely naked, and (he) was in the room,” said Jonathan, who also spoke with TRR.
“And I was just immediately like, ‘What are you doing?’ — screaming at the top of my lungs. And (he) is like, ‘I-I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.’ He apologized like 50 times, like I caught somebody red-handed.”
Suzy added that Pete was usually “cocky and confident,” but he was “trembling and shaking — on the verge of tears.”
TRR is not revealing Pete’s identity because he has not been charged with a crime.
But this scandal involves Daystar, one of the world’s largest Christian TV networks, which along with Trinity Broadcasting and the Christian Broadcasting Network are faith channels watched by millions around the world.
Co-founder Marcus Lamb, Jonathan’s father, once claimed the expansive TV network, with more than 100 stations worldwide, was worth $1 billion. According to Jonathan, Daystar employs about 300 staff and brings in around $100 million annually.
It’s also headed almost exclusively by Lamb family members.
Until his untimely death on Nov. 30, 2021, from complications with COVID-19, Marcus served as president. Now his widow, Joni Lamb, is president.
Jonathan had been vice president but says he was demoted to a manager position last April for refusing to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). The claim is supported by a recording of a board meeting Jonathan gave to TRR.
Then, in November, Daystar fired Jonathan — ostensibly because he failed to address “the deficiencies in your judgment and performance.” He and Suzy also used to co-host a show on Daystar, called “The Green Room,” but Suzy was fired from that position abruptly in July 2023, Jonathan said.
One of Jonathan’s sisters, Rachel Lamb Brown, is Daystar director of communications and her husband, Josh Brown, is director of business development. Jonathan’s other sister, Rebecca Lamb Weiss, is a producer and on-air contributor, and her husband Jonathan “J.W.” Weiss is director of information technology.
But according to Jonathan and Suzy, living and working within the Lamb dynasty came at an excruciatingly high price.
The saga involving the couple’s daughter started eight months before the incident at the beach house. That’s when the girl disclosed to Suzy she’d been molested.
Suzy said her daughter told her that a man had touched her and used her own hands to indicate she’d been finger raped vaginally and anally. (TRR is not releasing the name of the daughter to protect her privacy.)
The girl did not identify her molester, other than to mention a couple physical characteristics, Suzy said. Initially, Suzy thought the perpetrator was someone at her daughter’s school. But she discovered the school didn’t employ any men.
As the months went by, both Jonathan and Suzy began to suspect Pete.
She recalled that after a summer vacation in 2020, Pete told her that her daughter had walked in on him in the bathroom completely naked.
They noticed their daughter became terrified to come to Daystar, where Pete worked, and once ran and hid in a corner when she saw Pete enter a room.
They said Pete was often with their children in Daystar’s green room while they were filming their show. And once, Rebecca and J.W., Jonathan’s sister and brother-in-law, warned them about Pete. The couple reportedly told her they saw him putting his hands all over the child and kissing her.
Pete also would come over and play with the girl at Jonathan and Suzy’s house when only her brother and a nanny were home, which Suzy said the nanny found “creepy.”
And once, Pete and his wife had the girl and her brother sleep over at their house. After that sleepover, Suzy said her daughter “went from being the most affectionate, loud, fun child, to quiet. Nobody could touch her physically, except me. And when my husband would even come close, her body would stiffen up.”
Yet, according to Jonathan and Suzy, Marcus and Joni consistently fought to protect Pete and Daystar’s image rather than their own granddaughter.
Jonathan and Suzy Lamb (left) are pictured with Marcus and Joni Lamb (right) in Daystar TV’s Green Room in 2018.
Jonathan and Suzy accuse Marcus and Joni of cover-up
The day their daughter disclosed the alleged abuse, Suzy said she immediately called Joni, who urged Suzy not to go to police but instead to bring the girl to her. After meeting one on one with Joni, the girl stopped talking about what had happened, Suzy and Jonathan said.
“I don’t know what happened there,” Suzy said, but she was like a “lock box.”
“She doesn’t remember one thing,” Jonathan added. “She doesn’t even remember having that conversation. It’s like it never happened.”
Texas law requires anyone suspecting a child has been abused to report it to authorities.
Jonathan and Suzy reported their suspicions to police but said they kept it secret from their family. Because their daughter wouldn’t talk about it, police closed the case. (Later, it was re-opened).
Then, on Aug. 3, 2021, when Jonathan caught Pete alone in a room with his naked daughter, the couple went to Marcus and Joni, hoping they’d do something. But almost immediately, the elder Lambs declared Pete innocent, Jonathan and Suzy said.
Marcus and Joni justified Pete’s presence in the girl’s room by saying Pete loved her and simply wanted to hang out with her, Suzy said.
Suzy added that when she strongly objected, saying that didn’t explain why Pete was in the room with her naked daughter, Joni blamed the couple’s daughter, saying she was the one who took her clothes off. At this, Suzy said she began screaming at her mother-in-law, but Joni was adamant and reiterated her claim several times over the next 24 hours.
At one point, Marcus and Joni gathered Jonathan and Suzy with Pete and his wife in Marcus and Joni’s bedroom and insisted that they repent to each other and pray, Suzy said.
Then, Rebecca and J.W., who had been barred from the room, barged in, insisting they be included, Suzy added. Rebecca was angry, Suzy said, and began praying in tongues, “like in a war mode.” Suzy said she was in “shock” by what was happening.
Later in the day, Suzy said Rebecca confronted her dad, saying, “Why are you doing this to us? Why aren’t you doing what’s right?”
Suzy said Marcus responded, “Because of (Pete’s wife) and (their child).”
That night, when Suzy insisted their kids sleep in the room next to them, instead of upstairs, Joni confronted her, saying, “‘Look at what you’re doing to this family! What about (Pete’s wife and Pete)? What about their feelings?” Suzy said.
The next day, while Jonathan, Suzy, Rebecca, J.W., Marcus, and Joni were gathered in the kitchen, Joni claimed that God had told her while she was praying that Pete was innocent, Jonathan and Suzy said. At this, Marcus reportedly clapped his hands in joy, and the rest stood dumbfounded.
TRR reached out to Joni Lamb with detailed questions about the allegations Suzy and Jonathan leveled against her and Marcus, as well as other issues.
Daystar responded with a written statement, which said in part, “There is clearly a misunderstanding of what transpired, and the facts are quite different than what appears to have been reported to you. We simply do not support (Jonathan and Suzy’s) false allegations and are saddened by the continued relational incongruity between Jonathan and Suzy and the rest of their family.”
Similarly, TRR reached out to Pete, whose lawyer, Mark G. Daniel, sent a letter to TRR. It stated in part, “(My client) unequivocally denies the statements made by Jonathan and Suzy Lamb alleging that he engaged in some form of improper contact with any child. ... Anyone who knows (client) knows that these statements are false, insulting and demeaning.”
TRR also contacted Rebecca and J.W. to discuss the details in this article. The couple chatted briefly with TRR and said they would consider going on the record. After three days and no contact from the couple, TRR reached out via email to them with detailed questions, but they did not reply.
Marcus claims Pete is cleared, but was he?
The following week, Marcus and Joni sent Jonathan and Suzy to North Carolina with their daughter to meet with author and speaker Denise Boggs, founder of a healing ministry called Living Waters.
Suzy said the impetus for sending them away was a verse she posted on Instagram about it being better to be drowned in the sea than to cause “one of these little ones” to stumble. Suzy said the post caused Joni to believe she was “volatile.”
Boggs was a trusted friend of the Lamb family, whom Marcus and Joni had previously brought in to try and help resolve personal conflicts between Lamb family members.
After learning about the situation, Boggs, who’s not a licensed counselor, brought in Debbie Leonhardt, a licensed forensic counselor, to interview Jonathan and Suzy and their daughter and assess whether the girl had likely been assaulted.
Boggs declined to comment on the record for this story.
But Leonhardt spoke with TRR and said the couple’s daughter had already shut down by the time she saw her and wouldn’t talk. Leonhardt told TRR that this response is “very common” among child sex abuse victims, “especially if they’ve been sworn to secrecy.”
Based on what Jonathan and Suzy told her, Leonhardt said she told the couple the alleged abuse needed to be explored further and urged them to get their daughter to a counselor in their home state of Texas.
Suzy said their daughter was so traumatized and scared by what she’d experienced at the beach house, she wouldn’t leave her side. So, the couple decided to wait a while before attempting counseling.
On Aug. 10, 2021, the same day Jonathan and Suzy met with Leonhardt, Marcus emailed his three children and their spouses, as well as Daystar CFO Arnold Torres. The email outlined a succession plan should Marcus die.
Jonathan said that prior to this time, Marcus and Joni had communicated to the whole family that Jonathan would succeed his father as Daystar president. But the email stated that Joni would replace Marcus as president instead.
Jonathan said the change was “punishment” for accusing Pete.
On Aug. 17, Marcus emailed his children and their spouses again — this time to express his distress “over the fractures in our family.” He also warned them in no uncertain terms to stop playing “Judge, Jury, or Executioner” (emphasis in original email) and to trust his leadership, or face the consequences.
“There can only be one leader,” Marcus wrote. “Either you trust me as God’s leader, or you don’t. ...
“Your mother and I built Daystar without you, and we can run it without you. That would break my heart. But there are consequences for actions and attitudes. Don’t doubt my resolve. Don’t question my determination” (emphasis in original email).
The email ends with an “assignment” for his family to make a written list of “every hurt, every slight, and every bad word or deed that has happened to you by a family member. (Include your Mother or me if it is warranted). Then we can deal with it when Denise (Boggs) comes.”
Boggs didn’t visit Daystar. Instead, Pete and his wife flew to North Carolina to interview with Leonhardt — a meeting Leonhardt said Boggs had coordinated with Marcus and Joni.
Leonhardt said the meeting was arranged so she could provide an assessment of whether the allegations against Pete seemed valid.
Assessments, which are often presented in criminal trials or sentencing, normally include thorough clinical interviews with subjects, and sometimes psychological tests.
However, Leonhardt said she wasn’t able to interview Pete. She said Pete’s wife insisted on being present for the interview and answered all the questions intended for her husband.
As a result, Leonhardt said she told Boggs that Pete would have to return for an interview before she could offer any assessment, but Pete never came back.
TRR also has obtained a recording between Jonathan and Suzy Lamb and Boggs in which Boggs discusses why the process ended before Leonhardt could offer an assessment.
“I remember when Marcus and Joni said, ‘We want to drop everything — just drop everything ... OK?’” Boggs said. “And so, I had told Debbie (Leonhardt), ‘They just want to drop everything. I don’t want anything more to be written and documented on this.’ And so that was what Joni had said.”
This discussion between Jonathan, Suzy and Boggs took place on Nov. 18, 2023. But before then, Jonathan and Suzy said they didn’t know what happened during Leonhardt’s interview with Pete. They knew only what Marcus and Joni told them.
On Aug. 25, 2021, Jonathan said Marcus summoned him and J.W. into Marcus’ office. Marcus then told them that Leonhardt had investigated the allegations against Pete and determined that Pete had not molested Jonathan and Suzy’s daughter, Jonathan said.
He added that Marcus warned Jonathan and J.W. that if either of them continued to believe Pete was a pedophile, they’d need to find another job.
TRR specifically asked J.W. in an email to confirm what transpired in the Aug. 25, 2021, meeting between him, Marcus and Jonathan, but J.W. did not respond to the question.
Jonathan said that after that meeting, he felt like he had no choice but to submit to Marcus’ directive. Just three months later, Marcus died unexpectedly, and Jonathan spent the next year sorting through his mother’s financial affairs and taking care of her, Suzy said.
Meanwhile, Suzy said she became “depressed, just like a zombie, operating somehow.”
Daystar: ‘allegations proven false’
In Daystar’s statement released to TRR yesterday, the ministry likewise cited a 2021 investigation that allegedly “settled the matter.”
“There was an internal investigation about the matter you referenced when it was first raised at a family retreat in 2021, which concluded with no wrongdoing found nor evidence provided that corroborated the allegation,” the statement said. “Apologies were offered and reciprocal forgiveness was extended by all involved. Everyone, including Suzi (sic) and Jonathan, believed that the matter had been appropriately addressed and settled.
“It is unfortunate that these private family matters have just now resurfaced as these allegations were proven false, and the matter was resolved more than 3 years ago, after which family functions including holiday gatherings, continued for several more years.”
Pete’s lawyer also claimed in his letter that his client had “volunteered to sit for a clinical polygraph examination. He was found to be truthful in the polygraph examination wherein he denied and refuted these baseless claims. ”The letter adds that “Jonathan and Suzy do not truly believe these accusations. If they did, one has to wonder why they continued to travel with their children and (Pete) and his family.”
When asked about the polygraph, Jonathan wrote in a statement to TRR that Joni Lamb’s new husband, sex therapist and Daystar host Doug Weiss, owns a polygraph company.
“Given (Weiss’) extensive knowledge of polygraphs, I believe these findings can be easily manipulated,” Jonathan wrote.
A polygraph company linked at Weiss’ counseling webpage is Honest to Pete Polygraph. The company states on its FAQ page that it does not conduct polygraphs centered on sex offenses.
Also, according to LawInfo.com, “Lie detector tests have questionable reliability and are generally not admissible as evidence in court.”
TRR specifically asked Daystar if Doug Weiss had administered the test and requested documentation of the findings, but Daystar did not respond to our request.
Jonathan also addressed the assertion by Daystar and Pete’s lawyer that Jonathan and Suzy’s family continued to spend time with Pete.
Ever since the executive retreat on Aug. 3, 2021, “Suzy and I have had a strict boundary to keep (Pete and his wife) from ever being alone with (our daughter), nor has he stepped foot into our home.”
Jonathan said his family took one beach vacation in June 2022 because Joni “was adamant that we go as a family for her sake since she was a new widow.” Suzy added that she felt sorry for Joni and agreed to go, stipulating that the children would sleep in the basement near her and Jonathan.
Jonathan and Suzy noted that Rebecca and J.W. did not go on the family vacation, and Pete is not allowed in their house.
Jonathan also noted that in 2022, both he and Suzy still believed that Debbie Leonhardt had cleared Pete. In 2023, when the couple learned otherwise, they took their daughter to a counselor, who then reported the suspected abuse to Texas Child Protective Services (CPS).
According to Jonathan and Suzy, CPS then reported the suspected abuse to Colleyville Police, who have since re-activated their previous investigation.
Police records obtained by TRR show a “pending investigation” into alleged “sexual abuse” involving Jonathan and Suzy’s daughter. As of time of publishing, no charges have been filed.
Daystar also alleges in its statement that “this smear campaign is the sad result of Jonathan not being designated as the future President of Daystar” following his father’s death — something Jonathan emphatically denies.
This piece is republished from The Roys Report.
Julie Roys is a veteran investigative reporter and founder of The Roys Report. She also previously hosted a national talk show on the Moody Radio Network, called “Up for Debate,” and has worked as a TV reporter for a CBS affiliate. Her articles have appeared in numerous periodicals.